The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell, and Co.
Reviewed by: Carey Gibbons, Reference Specialist
Genre: Graphic Novel – Fantasy
Suggested Age: Kids, Tweens, Teens
What is the book about?: This is a book about a group of neighborhood kids who have huge, fabulous imaginations, and and endless supply of cardboard to build whatever or whoever they want. Each story in The Cardboard Kingdom is written by a different author, but interconnected with the others. We get a look at the regular lives these kids lead in addition to their alter-egos who live within the Cardboard Kingdom. This book has everything – robots, mad scientists, super-heroes, and a Blob. It also has both adversary and joy, often showing how these kids overcome the one to arrive at the other, but in ways that feel organic.
My Review: I love this book. I’m an adult and I don’t have children, so I’m saying right now that even though kids are the target audience, there’s a lot to like as an adult as well. This is a book I wish had been around when I was a kid and it’s so important that kids have diverse, inclusionary books now. It’s also important that those books don’t feel preachy or after-school-special-y. The Cardboard Kingdom tells a series of stories about a diverse group of kids that have the feel of being written by those kids themselves. This is an especially important fact considering that this book is the product of 10 writers and 1 artist – it’s an anthology of bite size stories that at the end of the day is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s also crazy cool to look at. Sell’s artwork is bold and vibrant and joyous. This is the kind of book where you can tell the creators had fun with it. And if you have kids or students, they will also have fun with it. If you do end up checking this out for yourself, your kids, or your classroom, there is also a pretty great set of free papercraft projects that go with the story, which you can access right here.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Fun, Imaginative, Diverse
Give This a Try if You Like… Adventure Time (television show or comic), Lumberjanes (comic), Calvin and Hobbes (comic strip)
Rating: 5/5
About FDL Reads
Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library. Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available. If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently. We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!